For Your Own Good
by readwritedance
Summary: Nearly 15 years ago, Ally ran away from Austin because she was pregnant. Now, she is a single mother to 13 year old Aubryn and Austin still doesn't know about his daughter. Will he ever know of Aubryn's existence?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first fanfiction so we'll see where it goes... Anywho... On with the disclaimer...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally. Now, on with the story...**

**Ally POV**

"Bryn honey! It's already 7! You're going to be late if you don't hurry up!" I yell up the stairs to my daughter.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'll be down in a second," I hear her sleepily respond.

"Okay, but your pancakes are getting cold," I shout back one more time, knowing that will get her down here faster than anything. Sure enough, in less than 30 seconds, I hear her come down the stairs two at a time. "Aubryn Harmony Dawson, how many times have I told you to not run down the stairs?" I reprimand her.

"Um... At least 392," she replies with a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she butters her stack of pancakes before adding syrup.

"Well, let's try not to reach 400". I tell her my proposal while I spoon some yogurt out into a bowl and pour out some granola to mix in. I join my daughter at the bar and we say a quick grace before digging in to our respective breakfasts.

10 minutes, two stacks of pancakes and a bowlful of yogurt later, I'm placing the dishes into the dishwasher while Bryn runs upstairs to finish getting ready. Since I'm already doing the dishes, I decide to go ahead and give the kitchen a quick clean. Right as I finish wiping off the last countertop, my phone chimes, signaling I have a new text. I quickly dry my hands off on a dish towel before grabbing and unlocking my phone. The text is from my second best friend. Even though I haven't seen her in a little less than 15 years, I'll always consider Trish de la Rosa my BFF. After Trish comes Elizabeth Coppage, AKA my second best friend AKA the person I just got a text from. I hurriedly scan the message after I saw the time on my home screen. All it said was "good morning", nothing that important. The important thing however was that my daughter was about to be late for the bus. She must have realized that also because I hear her coming down the stairs, once again two at a time.

"393," I tell her as she rushes by me on a hunt for her bag. "Your bag is in the foyer and your lunch is waiting on the counter," I call to her.

"Thanks Mom," she respond kissing my cheek on her way out.

"Have a great day," we both say at the same time.

* * *

"Ally!" I hear an unmistakable voice call out as a person enters the house.

"In my bedroom Lizzy!" I shout back. A loud thud resonates throughout the house as Liz drops her bags in the foyer and then walks up the steps and enters my room.

"Hey! How have you been?" I turn around and ask her before going back to the mirror to pull my hair into a decent ponytail.

"I'm good. Nothing much has happened since I last saw you on Friday."

"Same. Well, I got to get going. I'll see you tonight then," I tell her. Even though Aubryn doesn't need "babysat" anymore, Elizabeth still comes in the afternoons on weekdays to be there when Bryn gets home since I'm at work. I work at a restaurant. It sounds like a pretty crappy job that doesn't pay too much but it's actually a very expensive place to eat at and the manager treats us employees well. "Bye Lizzy".

"Bye Ally! See you soon!"

* * *

"Hello! My name is Ally and I'll be serving you on this fine evening. What would you like to drink?" I greet a couple that just say down at one of my tables. Business tonight isn't to terribly fast but it could be slower for my liking. I write down their orders and hurry on to the next table. After making to about 4 other tables, I head over to the kitchen to give the orders to the chefs and get drinks for some customers. Once I deliver the drinks to the right people, I scurry back to the kitchen and grab the food that was ready for a certain table. This for me is pretty much normal. Thankfully, I don't tire easily and I'm able to get through the night without a problem. By the time I get home, it's 11 o'clock and Aubryn should be in bed. But knowing her, she's probably on her phone doing who knows what. I trust her though. Bryn is an incredibly smart and obedient young lady and she wouldn't do anything that could get her into trouble.

I slowly unlock the front door of my house and step into the foyer. I remove my black tennis shoes and set my bag down before continuing on into the guest room. Or as I call it, the place where Lizzy crashes. I shake her awake before heading into the kitchen to grab a small snack.

"Hey," Lizzy says sleepily walking in.

"Hi," I chuckle back.

"Listen I don't know what it is but I'm a lot more tired than usual. I think I might head home unless you need me," Lizzy states.

"It's fine. Go home. Do you need me to drive you?"

"No it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Ally".

"Bye Liz". I reply before ushering her out the door. I shut and lock it before turning around and heading up to my bedroom. I pause at Bryn's room and say a quiet "goodnight" and then continue on to the door at the end of the hall. I softly open it and step inside the room before turning on the light. I go about my nightly routine and then I pull back the covers and get ready to get into the bed. However, before I do, I see a beautiful diamond ring. A ring that brings back a whole lot of memories...

**The next chapter will be a flashback. So, if you're confused, hopefully you won't be by the end of the next chapter. Please review... just remember I have feelings too. :)**

**-Reagan Maree**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter 2! This is a flashback. I tried to make it obvious when each part took place. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally**

**Ally's POV:**

_I blink once, twice. I squint at the item in my hands, hold it up to the light, do anything I can to have proof that my future has really just been altered dramatically. Sighing, I remove all evidence of my most recent life development. I've read too many books and seen too many shows where the significant other founds out about the pregnancy by seeing the remains of the test. That absolutely cannot happen to me. After properly disposing all evidence, I grab my phone and call the doctor's office to set up an appointment. As soon as I determine how far along I am, I'll be packing my bags and leaving for some random place in the middle of nowhere. I can't harm Austin's career with a child. If we were already married, I'd be dialing him up right now telling him the great news. Unfortunately, we've been engaged for about 5 months and have no idea when the wedding will be. So, looks like I'm off to... I don't know where..._

_I walk into the doctor's office and become nearly blinded by the reflection of the sun off my stunning engagement ring. Just have to remind me don't you ring? Last night, after plenty of tossing and turning, I decided not to tell anyone about my child and head off to Valley, Nebraska. I already got the essentials I needed for my new life packed this morning and I'll be off in the next two hours._

* * *

_"Congratulations!" exclaim the doctor and nurses around me. "Here's your baby girl!" I'm handed a tiny bundle of screams. _

_"Hi sweet pea! I'm your mommy. I love you more than anything else in this world," I murmur this and other soothing things to her and she soon calms down._

_"Do you have a name picked out?" one of the nurses asks._

_"Aubryn Harmony Dawson," I reply. I chose Aubryn in honor of Austin because it sounds similar to his name and I think it's gorgeous anyways and Harmony for a nod to our musical background. I know a lot of people would expect me to give her the last name Moon but I don't want her to get any ideas on who her father is. After all, Moon isn't a common last I'll probably tell her but when she's younger, I want to protect her._

_As the nurses take care of Aubryn, I relax and take a trip down memory lane: _

_After my doctor's appointment, I drove the excruciatingly long drive from Florida to Nebraska and bought a little apartment there. My neighbor was a girl my age and we soon became friends. She helped me adjust to my life and I'm so happy we met. Before I changed my phone number, I texted all my loved ones in Miami telling them I was fine and I left for their own good. I did interviews for a couple of jobs and landed a secretary job to start after I had Aubryn. I would start 3 months after she was born. As far as Austin and my disappearance with the press went, ehh. Austin didn't play any concerts or release any music for about 4 months. Everyone told the media that I went to visit my aunt because she had cancer and it was unknown when I would be back. Austin is now back at his job and if he feels anything, he's doing a superb job hiding a few months, I'm going to get a tattoo. I would've gotten it the second I ran away if I wasn't pregnant. I've decided to get a little crescent moon on my left ring finger in honor of Austin (it's a moon like his last name...). It will go in place of the engagement ring. I didn't give him the ring back; I have it on my dresser. I'm never going to forget Austin and the only thing I have (other than Aubryn of course) is the ring and soon the tattoo._

* * *

_"Mommy! Mommy! I hungry!"_

_"What would you like to eat? Mommy needs to go to work and Aunt Lizzy is coming over soon so it needs to be quick"_

_"Pancakes!"_

_I was 98% sure she was going to say that so I had already got the ingredients for the pancakes out. About 5 minutes into the pancake-making process, my next-door-neighbor-friend Lizzy enters my apartment._

_"I'm back!" she calls. _

_"Aunt Lizzy! Aunt Lizzy! Guess what!" Bryn yells running up to her for a hug._

_"What?" Liz replies with excitement engulfing my daughter in a big hug._

_"Mommy's makin' pancakes!"_

_I laugh at her eagerness. "Hey Liz, how are you?"_

_"Good. I'll finish this. You finish getting ready," she offers nodding toward my outfit. I'm still in sweatpants and a tank top. I finished my hair and make up but I was interrupted by Bryn before I could change. The joys of having a four-year-old. I rummage through my closet and pick out khaki pants and a nice green and tan floral shirt. I add my sea-foam green flats and a diamond necklace before going back into the kitchen to grab my purse, phone and keys and tell the other two girls goodbye._

_I step outside into the warm, summer air and unlock my car. I've had the same secretary job since I had Aubryn and I've gotten some raises that allow me to have a car and other luxuries like that. My drive to and from work is usually when I reflect on my life._

_I'm a 25-year-old, financially stable, single mother. Luck must've been with me. Aubryn was born with brown hair similar to mine so it's easy to say she's mine without being asked who the dad is. I feel like it would be a bit harder to explain if she had blonde hair like her father. Speaking of her father, Austin is doing fine. He branched out into acting two years ago. He's moved on from me and is going steady with one of his co-stars. I should probably be jealous but I'm actually very happy that I didn't leave him depressed and that he is able to continue life. Whenever someone asked about me, he would say we broke up privately and have gone our separate ways._

_ Aubryn's a little ball of energy. She loves music and art. Every now and then she'll ask about her dad and I tell her that he's very busy and can't visit. She buys it but I'm kind of worried for her when school starts and she meets all these other kids who have dads. _

_Then there's Trish and Dez, the other half of Team Austin. Trish is the manager of many well-known people, including Austin. Dez has directed a ton of movies and has a lot of awards to prove it. He, of course, is still Austin's best friend and video director._

_There's also Lizzy. Elizabeth Coppage has been the best thing that happened to me since Aubryn. The second she met me, she "took me under her wing". She helped me get furniture for the apartment, find a job and is amazing with Aubryn. Liz watches Bryn for free so I can go to work to be able to pay for our apartment, groceries, and luxuries. She doesn't pester me about Aubryn's father and just goes with the flow. If I ever needed help in any form or fashion, she'd be the first to contribute. _

* * *

_"How was the first day of third grade?" I ask my 8-year-old._

_"It was good, Mommy. Rylie Cate and Hunter are in my class again." Rylie Cate and Hunter have been Aubryn's two best friends since kindergarten. They don't judge Aubryn for not having a father and their parents don't judge me for being a young, single mom._

_"That's great sweetie! Okay, Aunt Lizzy should be here in a second and then I'm going to go to work. There's a snack sitting on the dining room table for you," I inform her and head over to the table by the front door to gather my stuff together for work. As I set my bag down, I get hit by the front door opening. _

_"Thanks Liz," I tell my best friend sarcastically without even turning around. I know it's her; she does this everyday without fail._

_"You're welcome Ally!" She replies, purposely ignoring my sarcasm. Continuing on a serious note, she warns me, "Listen, you probably already heard about this, but Austin's going to be in Omaha in a few days for his tour". Austin came once before when Bryn was 6. I had to enlist Lizzy's help to keep away from him. Of course, she deserved an explanation as to why I needed her help so I told her about Austin. She took the news that her niece was Austin Moon's daughter quite well. Austin and I had kept our relationship pretty low-key, so not a lot of people - including Liz - knew who I was and that I was engaged to THE Austin Moon. So, she hadn't recognized me when she first met me. "Thanks Liz, I did realize that, I'm just going to hope that he'll stay in Omaha and not venture out. Nevertheless, I arranged to not have to work on the days he's here. Aubryn will still go to school. I don't think anyone, including Austin, would put 2 and 2 together if they saw her. Dawson is a pretty common last name. Anyhow, Aubryn went to the dining room for her snack. I'll see you at 10," I inform Elizabeth. I walk over to the dining room and poke my head around the wall. "Bye sweetie. Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow morning," I tell her._

_"Bye Mommy! See you tomorrow." She responds. I kiss her cheek and head out the door, telling Liz "bye" on my way out. _

_I'm heading to my quasi-new job. Last year, the company I worked for as a secretary went out of business and I had to find a new job. Luckily, I found work at a 5 star restaurant that treats its employees well. Since I have the money, I'm planning on moving to an actual house. Bryn and I have lived in the same apartment since I got here. I've already looked at a few houses and when my lease expires in January, we'll move. I'm really excited. _

_In other news, Austin Moon is engaged to the co-star he's been dating on and off for five years. I'm quite proud of him. No one knows when their wedding is, but they've been engaged for about a year and a half. We'll see how that ends..._

* * *

Gosh, so much has happened in these 13 years. I look at the ring that's been sitting on my dresser for that same amount of time. It brings back so many memories.

4 years ago, I bought a house and Aubryn and I moved in. Liz got married to her long time boyfriend and moved in with him. So, gone are the apartments that helped start our amazing friendship. However, she still comes over every afternoon to stay with Aubryn even though Bryn is old enough to babysit someone else. I think Aubryn just likes the company. After all, I work from 4-10 pm every day except Sunday.

Then there's Team Austin. Trish is still (shocker) a manager along with being a well-known person in the fashion industry. Dez has directed so many popular movies but still stays close to home by directing all of Austin's music videos. Austin. He and his fiancé split 4 years ago and now he's dating a different co-star. There are even rumors they're engaged. Third time's the charm right? I told Aubryn about her father. Sort of. I didn't tell her who her father is but I told her that I left him for his own good. Since Austin doesn't talk to my parents anymore, I introduced them to Aubryn when she was 10. They usually visit every Christmas. I'm glad I can talk to them again after a decade of silence.

Tiredly, I roll over and catch a glimpse of the time. It's already after midnight. I must've been in the past for over an hour. I drift off to sleep thinking about what the future holds in store for Aubryn and myself.

**Well, that's Chapter 2! Thank you so much for reading. So, I was wondering who's POV's should I do? I'm not sure if I want to keep it strictly Ally's or if I want to add in Austin's and/or Aubryn's. What do y'all think? Anyhow, please review!**

**~Reagan Maree**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! How was y'alls Monday? I hate Monday's. As it turns out, since we were off school for five days because of the snow, we have a test or quiz in just about every class tomorrow. Anyhow, I doubt y'all really care. Here's Chapter 3.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally**

**Austin's POV:**

"And that's a wrap!" I hear my music video director and best friend Dez call. Shouts of happiness fill the room we're currently in. For the past few days, we've been filming a music video for a song that means a lot to me. It's a song that everyone, including my girlfriend , thinks is for my girlfriend. Actually, it's for my first fiancé Alessia Melodie Dawson; but no one knows that. I love my current girlfriend, Abigail Stafford and I loved my second fiancé, Sarah Morris. I just love my first fiancé more than either of them. I think Sarah realized this. I was never 100% committed to her. A little part of me will always be attached to Ally, whether I see her again or not. Abbie on the other hand is completely oblivious to the fact that I sometimes start to call her Ally instead of Abbie or that I sometimes zone out and seem distracted beause I'm thinking of the "good ol' days".

Ally never told me what made her leave. The only thing she told me after she left was: "I'm sorry I had to go. It wasn't anybody's fault but mine so, I'm leaving for your own good. I will never forget or stop loving any of you guys. Love, Ally". I memorized that text. I tried to respond but she must've ignored it and then changed her number shortly thereafter. She never did give me her engagement ring back, so hopefully that means she didn't leave me for someone else...

For 4 months after she left, I didn't do anything. She was my life. I didn't go all depressed and suicidal, but I wasn't the fun loving energetic person everyone knows me as. I didn't release any music, write any music, or do any concerts. Dez took the personal responsibility to change his attitude and wardrobe so as to help me. Trish and Dez were also melancholic and laid off the fighting for awhile. That helped more than anything. After all, Ally was the peacekeeper and I would never be able to stop them from killing each other.

Since Ally didn't like all the hate and publicity she got from being my girlfriend, not a lot of people knew about our relationship. Of course, somehow somebody heard something from their brother who heard something from their aunt, who heard something from their next door neighbor's daughter's classmate that I was dating Ally Dawson; so, it got out to some of the media. After that, whenever Ally and I were out and about (which wasn't often), the paparazzi went berserk. Naturally, when there was no sign of "Auslly" as it was apparently called, the world seemed to end. I had to tell the press that Ally went to help her aunt because her aunt had cancer. I couldn't just say, "Oh yeah, my fiancé just wanted to pack up leave with just about no explanation and I have to act like I'm totally fine with it". Telling everyone that lie was one of the hardest things to ever say. For the next few years, I thought I saw her everywhere I looked. It started to lessen a bit, but every now and then, I'll still have a hallucination.

"Hey Austin! How's my favorite man doing right now?" My girlfriend walks into my makeshift dressing room breaking me out of my daydream. She's wearing a lilac purple dress and a light pink cardigan. She paired it with a nude purse and pair of heels. She looks sophisticated, stunning, and nothing like Ally. Ally wouldn't care what she was wearing. She wouldn't try to impress anybody. She could be dressed in gardening clothes and still look far better than Abbie. Gosh Austin! Stop it. Focus on Abbie, forget about Ally.

"Al- bbie! Abbie! How are you? How was Paris? I haven't talked to you face to face since before you left 2 weeks ago!" I come over and kiss her, thinking of what it was like to kiss Ally instead. Wait! Snap out of it Austin. You won't see Ally ever again. Just be happy with Abbie! We break apart before hugging.

"Hey! Austin! We need to get going. We have a meeting with Jimmy remember?" Dez calls running in."Oh yeah. I totally forgot about that. Abbie, I'll text you later. Let's meet for dinner tomorrow night, so we can catch up." I tell my girlfriend, giving her a chaste kiss before grabbing my coat and belongings and heading out the door to my car.

* * *

The whole story behind my love life is kind of complicated:

Two years after Ally left, I started acting. On one of my movies, I met Sarah Morris, a talented actress who played my character's love interest. The on-screen romance turned out to be also off-screen. We dated on and off for 3 years before I proposed to her. We were engaged for nearly 2 years and we never set a wedding date. Sarah knew that something was up with our relationship; that I wasn't fully committed. I wasn't technically cheating on her... I just really missed Ally. We decided it would be better for us to call off the engagement and go our separate ways.

Later that year, on the set of a different movie, I met Abigail Morris. We instantly hated each other and the only reason we would ever talk would be for the movie. The next year, I ended up finding myself on a different movie set with none other than Abbie. We decided to restart our relationship, and this time we really hit off. We've dated for two years and I'm considering proposing to her. Some rumor got out that I already proposed and all that jazz. I really don't know if I should. My mind isn't with the rest of my life. It's about a decade and a half behind. I need to seriously consider the future of my love life.

My career on the other hand already has it's future mapped out perfectly. Even though Ally was and probably always will be considered my songwriter, I'm capable of writing my own songs. I started to do just that and went ahead with my music. Since all this started, I've gone on 3 U.S tours and a world tour.

I thought acting would help me get my mind off other things and I fell in love with it. There's not much to say about that except that I've become a triple threat and am now one of the most famous people in the world. Not to brag or anything. Gosh that sounded bad. I've starred in many movies and had supporting roles in even more. I've also guest starred on quite a few TV shows. I've even been offered my own show but I knew that would be career suicide. Trying to juggle music along everything that comes with that and a TV show and all that comes along with that? Nope. I'm Austin Moon. I might be 34, but I'm still a 15 year old on the inside. I'm not ready for that big of a commitment. I'm more focused on the music than the acting.

* * *

I pull up into the parking lot of Starr Records, Dez right on my tail. We get out of our cars simultaneously and walk up to the glass double doors. When we open up the doors, Christie, the secretary, glances up from her work.

"Hey guys! Jimmy and Trish are already waiting on you in Jimmy's office," she informs us.

"Thanks Chris, see you in a few hours," I hear Dez reply. Once we're out of a ear shot, I ask him, "A few hours...? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, she's helping me organize my office. You know, since she's a secretary and all."

"Oh... Yeah right. You have fun with that buddy." We arrive at Jimmy's door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come on in. Austin Moon and Dez-" Jimmy welcomes us and leaves his sentence hanging. Dez is one of those people that are only known by their first name.

"Oh. It's Dez-"

Trish cuts my best friend off before he can continue, "Yeah, yeah. About time, I've got a plane to London to catch in three hours. Let's get this over with." Trish and Dez lessened the fighting after Ally left, but Trish can still be very controlling and downright terrifying at times.

"Sorry Trish. We got a bit behind today with the shoot, and-"

"I really don't care, you're here now," Trish interrupts.

"You really enjoy interru-" Dez starts.

"Yeah I do. Now sit down and shut up".

"Yes Ma'am," Dez and I obey instantly. Jimmy just watched this banter with amusement. This is routine for us.

"Okay, Austin. I'm very proud of you. A new single and music video, along with a movie coming up? You definitely deserve a break. We're giving you three weeks to do whatever you want. No work obligations," Jimmy starts.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! I really needed a break. Is that all you needed to talk to me about?" I exclaim.

"No not exactly see..." Jimmy continues on about what's coming up for my career and so on and so forth. An hour and a half later, we all get up and shake hands and Team Austin (minus Ally of course) leaves Jimmy's office and heads towards the building's entrance.

"So Austin, how are you going to spend your vacation?" Trish asks.

"I'm not sure. I'll probably spend some time with Abbie before going somewhere nice. Maybe somewhere we went on tour. Ooh. What about Pennsylvania, or Illinois, or Nebraska? Maybe even Utah. Utah was nice wasn't it?" I answer Trish being a little discursive.

"Really, you're going to stay in the states? You should go to Europe. Or Australia."

"I don't know Trish, I kind of just want to be normal. Maybe I'll go somewhere quiet. I really did like Nebraska. And Utah. I think it's between Utah and Nebraska. Hey, where'd Dez go?" Trish and I were already in the parking lot.

As if he heard my question, Dez walks out with Christie, "Great I'll see you in an hour."

"Wait. Is something happening between you two?" Trish asks looking incredulous.

"No. She's helping me organize my office!" Dez throws up his hands in exasperation. "And don't you have a plane to catch?"

"Crap. I'll see you guys later. Austin, have a good vacation. I still think you should go out of country but whatever," Trish hurriedly steps into her car and zooms off toward the airport.

"Well buddy, have a good break. I'll probably see you during it but still."

"Great Dez. Have a good time 'organizing your office' with Christie." I put air quotes around "organizing your office" and then open my car door. I start the engine and head toward the road, leaving an annoyed and perlexed Dez in my wake.

* * *

When I get home, I text Abbie the news. I've decided to spend the first few days with her. She has some business thing to go to in four days anyway. Then, I'll head to some quiet place. I'm really thinking Utah or Nebraska. I get online and check airfare prices for Utah and for Nebraska. Nebraska seems cheaper and overall better. I click purchase. Looks like I'm spending the next 2 1/2 weeks in Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding areas.

**Chapter 3! I'm so sorry I write such small chapters! I write them on my phone before going through a long process to upload them here because I don't own my own computer and I have to steal my mom's. The chapter's seem so long on my phone, but then they end up being so short. So, I'm sorry for the little chapters! On the bright side, I've updated every 3 ish days...? Does that make it better? **

**By the way, apparently "Loud" was played in the stadium at the Super Bowl last night. Did any one get to hear it there? Chapter 4 should be up by Thursday!**

**~ RM **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Well, it's Thursday and I said I would update, so here is Chapter 4! I don't want to hold y'all from reading this chapter so please make sure you read the AN after the chapter because that's where I will make some announcements!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally!**

**Aubryn's POV **

Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-.

My alarm clock starts beeping and I lazily roll over to slam it off before snuggling back under my snow-white comforter. In less than five seconds, my eyes are closed and I'm back off in dreamland. In today's dream, Aubryn has a dad! Of course, this is a dream and those rarely come true.

Right about the time my dream finally reaches the good part, I hear my mother yell up at me, "Aubryn Harmony! I let you sleep in a little because it's Monday, but if you don't come down soon, there won't be any pancakes left."

This of course got me out of bed. Apparently, my father LOVED pancakes. I didn't think that type of thing was hereditary but I guess it is since I REALLY like pancakes. Every Monday, my Mom will make me pancakes because... well, it's Monday.

"I'm coming down as soon as I get changed! Please don't do anything to the pancakes!" I rush around grabbing clothes and accessories. I quickly put on some dark rinse skinny jeans, a black shirt and a black cardigan and add an infinity scarf that looks like a world map. I put in some pearl earrings and put my hair up into a ponytail. No time for fancy hairstyles, I have a stack of pancakes that are threatened to be removed waiting on me downstairs. Hastily I put my comforter and sheets back on top of the bed semi-decent. I throw my pillows on top. A white one that matches my comforter, a grey one that matches my sheets underneath the comforter, and a white fuzzy throw pillow. I grab my pajamas and throw them down the laundry shoot before heading down the stairs. I don't need to have Mom mad at me for skipping stairs. The fate of my breakfast is up to her. Thankfully, there are pancakes at my place at the bar. The syrup and butter are already on them, just the way I like it. I bow my head for grace before digging in.

* * *

"Bryn! Hey Bryn! Did you see that text I sent you last night?" My friend Rylie Cate calls out and then walks carefully over to me.

"Yes Ry, I did. I asked my mom and she said I could go, just to be back by curfew," I respond.

"Hey girls. How were your weekends?" Another one of my best friends, Hunter catches up to us and asks Rylie and me his question as we head into the school building.

"Fine," we say in unison. He nods, scanning the crowded hallway. I see his eyes light up which means he must've spotted our other best friend, Penton.

It originally started out as Rylie and Hunter. They'd been inseparable since birth and act like brother and sister. Then, in kindergarten, I met them and we hit right off. Mom likes them because their families don't have anything against us for being a family without a male figure. In third grade, Penton transferred from Atlanta, Georgia and we added him into the group. Hunter was probably the happiest to finally have another guy to talk to when we're together.

"Hey guys! Are we still on for tonight? We've got to get that stupid science project over with," starts Penton walking up to us.

"Yup"

"You know it"

"Yeah"

"Great! I'll meet you guys at our usual spot at 3:50," he finishes. The warning bell rings signaling we only have five minutes to go to our lockers and be seated in homeroom. We all dash off in different directions, leaving shouts of "see you soon" in our wake. Thankfully, my locker is right by where we just were. I spin my combination, 17-35-07, and jiggle the lock. The door pops open and I deposit some belongings and withdraw the materials I need for my first two classes. Slamming my locker shut, I hurriedly grab my stuff and walk at an extremely brisk pace to my homeroom class.

I walk in and I'm seated at my assigned seat smiling and nodding to some of my other friends with seconds to spare.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

And another day starts. We go through the morning announcements, say the pledge, and have a moment of silence AKA catch up time with friends through facial expressions. Finally, the principal tells us to have a good day and signs off the PA system. Pretty soon, the bell goes off again and I get up to move to my assigned seat for first period. My first period and homeroom classes are in the same room.

Mrs. Flowers starts droaning on about scatter plots. I'm a straight A student and I currently have an 100 in this class. Math is just SOO boring. 55 minutes later, the bell rings and I go to my 2nd period and first class that has my friends in it. My English teacher is a lot more lenient and when she gave us our seats, she put Penton, Rylie, and me together with another guy who's on the soccer team with Pen. We goof off until Mrs. Jacobs walks into the room and tells the class to settle down. Currently in English, we're reading Gone With The Wind **(don't own but I LOVE it)**. Yeah. We're reading it "in partnership" with Georgia History since we're studying the Civil War in that class. Gone With The Wind is the longest book, but it's really good. We're going to watch the movie when we're done. Surprisingly, everyone's being very mature about the book and some things that are mentioned.

After reading about 10 pages and stopping and discussing every five seconds, we're given our homework (finish the chapter we're on) and permission to pack up. Pen, Ry and I split up and head to our lockers. I put away my math binder and English binder and grab out my gym clothes and chorus music. Someone taps my shoulder and I turn around to find Rylie standing next to me waiting semi-patiently for me so we can go to chorus together.

Mrs. Nelson welcomes us and we start with some vocal warm ups before delving into the music we're working on for our Spring Concert. I love singing from the bottom of my heart. Mom and Dad do too. Mom told me that my father is a very famous man and she made the decision to leave him and his career unharmed. That means I have a celebrity for a parent. But which one? I've gone through long lists of men that are about my moms age but I don't know who he could be. Mom says that if I ever were to meet him, he would love me just as much as she does. There's a little tattoo on her left ring finger that she got to represent my father. However, it's a little crescent moon and unless he's an astronaut or something like that, I've got no idea what it means. Aunt Lizzy knows who my father is. Why can't I? I feel Rylie glancing at me and I know I need to focus. This is my favorite class of the day. Music allows me to forget about all the bad things in my life and it helps me feel like I have a father who's at work and will be home for supper. But that's not true. As soon as the bell rings, I'll be brought back into reality. Sure enough, here I am. Now, I'm heading to PE where I'll see Penton and Hunter.

I head into the girls locker room and twist in my lock combination. I change and then head out to my spot on the gym floor. Since our last names are so close together alphabetically, I sit behind Hunter Carson who sits behind Penton Butler. Role is called and then we warmup. After jogging around the gym 3 times, everyone disperses to places around the gym where different things are set up. I head over to play volleyball with a couple of other girls. In no time at all, the students go back to the locker rooms and change and get ready for fifth period. The usual routine happens once again: the bell rings, I go to my locker, I drop off my choral music and gather my Spanish binder and textbook and my Georgia History binder and my lunch, Hunter comes to my locker, together we go to Rylie Cate's locker and then the three of us head to "la clase de espanol".

Señora Lester welcomes us and we get into a line to go to the lunchroom. Hunter gets into the lunch line by Penton and Rylie and I sit down at our usual table. I open up my lunchbox and start eating. About halfway through my sandwich, I see two people plunk their lunches down across the table from Ry and me. I look up to find Penton staring at the brownie I have saved for dessert.

"No."

"Just a little bit? Half of the little bit? A quarter of the little bit? A crumb?"

"If your lucky".

"Please, please, please?"

"Penton! I'll bring you a whole brownie tomorrow. Okay? Just stop begging."

The rest of lunch passes by quickly and as we get up to throw away our trash, Penton reminds me about the brownie.

We arrive back at spanish class and start our warm up before learning about conjugating irregular verbs. Oh joy! Hunter and Rylie are fighting in less than a minute over the conjugation of the verb "oir". Thankfully, our good friend Google **(don't own)** comes in to save the day. As it turns out, neither of them were right. What else is new? Both of them are so smart until they start bickering with each other.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Time for Georgia History. Penton and I have this class together. Today, we have a substitute. I've always hated substitutes. I really like routine and that goes out the window when the teacher is out. Plus, I really like Mr. Harbin. He's probably my favorite teacher because he's incredibly laid back and he makes the most boring class of the day as interesting as he can. The sub is ancient and has no idea what's supposed to be happening. Sixth period drags on and I'm pretty sure we'll graduate before we get out of this class. However, that is thankfully not the case and soon thereafter I'm at my locker putting books and binders into my backpack. I walk into science and sit down with Pen, Ry, and Hunter at our group table. As I rifle through my backpack, looking for my science binder, Ms. Sumners gives us a couple of reminders and then we get started on our science project. Us four are working together on a project about sound waves. We're heading to Penton's house after school's over to finish it since it's due on Friday and today is the only day we can all get together.

Penton and I withstand 55 minutes of arguing from Rylie and Hunter and brace ourselves for another two hours of it. We both breathe a sigh of relief when we're dismissed to go to our lockers if we haven't already. I trail after Rylie and as she pulls out her backpack we start discussing fashion. She of course looks stunning in her black shirt tucked into a bright Aztec tribal skirt. Rylie Cate is the fashionista. She rarely wears pants, only dresses and skirts. I, on the other hand, usually grab whatever looks appealing. However, whenever she has a chance, Rylie will make my "appealing outfit" look so much better. Hunter's the "preppy" guy and he always dresses nicely. Penton on the other hand, he is to Hunter as I am to Rylie, except worse. He plays a ton of sports and is constantly wearing athletic shorts and Nike **(don't own)** shirts. However, our styles all fit our personality and looks.

I'm 5' 5" with medium-length, thick, dark, dark, DARK brown hair and pale skin. I've got brown eyes like mom and apparently dad.

Rylie is 5' 4" and she loves to wear heels to make her look taller. She's got long, beach-blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and her natural tan completes her "California Girl" look, even though we live in Nebraska. A great word for her would be "girly girl". She hates sports, unless she's watching them, and loves anything that has to do with clothing. Her role model is a fashion designer named Trish de la Rosa. What makes Trish even better? She's Austin Moon's manager. Austin Moon has been Ry's celebrity crush since before she was born. I like his music and acting and sure I guess he's a little cute, but I really don't like his fan base and how the poor guy's face is on anything and everything. Rylie tried to drag me to his concert he had here when we were eight but mom said no. She never said exactly why.

Next in the friend line up would be Hunter. Hunter is 5' 7" and like I said before, preppy. But it's a good preppy. He's more of a well dressed kind of preppy. He's on the football team but that's as far his range of playing sports goes. However he LOVES watching sports. Oh my gosh. It's impossible to get anything done involving Hunter if there's a game being played in front of him. He's got a brown buzz cut and green eyes with little brown specks in them.

Like Hunter, Penton is 5' 7" but that's really where the similarities end. Pen sleeps, breathes, and eats sports, but mainly soccer. Soccer is how he "expresses" himself. Yeah Aubryn, let's just go all therapeutic and use fancy, official-sounding words. Penton has shaggy, dirty blonde hair that he always is flipping out of his face. His eyes are a lighter brown than mine, more of a hazel. He's got a splatter of freckles that are constantly present on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

I love all my friends dearly and would do anything to keep them safe.

"Hey girls," Pen and Hunter walk over to where we're standing at Rylie's locker. Rylie turns around, shutting her locker as she does so. We shoulder out backpacks higher and head out to where Mrs. Butler, Penton's mom, is waiting on us. A chorus of "hellos" are thrown her way as we step into the mini van.

* * *

We toss our backpacks in the foyer and allow our noses to follow the delicious smell wafting into the kitchen. In the kitchen is a plate of chocolate chip cookies. We all grab a cookie before heading back for our backpacks and then downstairs to the basement. We goof off for a few minutes before settling down to do the task before us. Two hours, way too many cookies, and a lot of hard work later, Mrs. Butler comes down to tell us that she talked to our parents and we're invited to stay for dinner, which was ready. We all trek up the stairs and to our usual seats at the dining room table. Eating at the others' houses is extremely common so we all have our regular seats at each family's dining table. Mrs. Butler prepared a delicious, mouth-watering concoction of chicken fettuccine alfredo. I dig in excitedly. I love pasta nearly as much a pancakes.

An hour later, Rylie and I get up to help Mrs. Butler clean up while Penton, Hunter, and Mr. Butler discuss sports. What else would they talk about? At 7:30, the four of us go back down to the basement to clean up our mess and gather our belongings. We all pile back in the minivan and get dropped off one at a time. When it's my turn, I thank Mrs. Butler and say bye to Penton and Hunter as Rylie Cate had already been dropped off. I walk up the pathway to our house and open the door to find Aunt Lizzy sitting on the couch watching the news with a furrowed brow.

"Hey Aunt Lizzy, I'm home. What's wrong?" I ask her nodding towards the TV screen.

"Hey sweetie. I was just watching the news and you know how depressing that can be," she replies back keeping her eyes trained on the news reporter's.

"Oh gosh Ally," she mumbles and then "Where's my phone?" a bit louder. She finds it and triumphantly holds it up before her fingers start flying across the keyboard. While she texts, I watch the news report. What's so bad about Austin Moon?

"... And will be in Omaha, Nebraska on a vacation for the next 2 weeks. Sources say he left Miami, Sunday night and will be leaving Nebraska in two Saturdays," the woman continued. Just then my phone chimes and I pull it out, revealing a text from Rylie Cate with the following message:

"OMG! AUSTIN MOON IS GOING 2 B 22 MINS AWAY FROM US 4 2 WKS!"

I respond: "calm down Ry! No one likes a crazy fan girl." I smile and replace my phone in my back pocket. Aunt Lizzy has her eyes back on the screen, which reminds me: What does Mom have to do with Austin Moon? I shrug and head upstairs. I already finished my homework at Penton's so I get on my tablet and start to get sucked into my book. Before I know it, it's time for me to get ready for bed. I grab a towel and head into the light yellow bathroom adjoining my room. After starting some music on my phone and turn on the water, I step out of my clothes and jump into the shower. I wet my hair and add some shampoo. It takes a lot of shampoo and conditioner to keep my hair even looking semi presentable. It's just so thick! While I'm rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, I sing the last few notes of the song I was listening to. The next song that comes on is an Austin Moon song. Which reminds me... Mom. What does she have to do with a billionaire, actor, and singer? And why was Aunt Lizzy so worried? There will be an interrogation tomorrow morning. I sigh and cut off the water before stepping into the cold air, my feet landing on the plush, yellow carpet that matches the walls and yellow/white polka-dotted shower curtain. Wrapping the towel around me, I head back into my room and grab some pajamas. 10 minutes later, I go downstairs with my hair in a towel turban to grab some ice cream. Aunt Liz is seated on the couch watching a movie looking a lot more relaxed than she was a few hours ago. I scoop out the moose tracks into two bowls and add a spoon to each. I carry the bowls over to the living room and sit down on the couch next to Aunt Liz, handing her a bowl as I do so. We watch the movie and eat in silence until I get up and grab both bowls off the coffee table and wish Aunt Lizzy a good night. I rinse the bowls and place them in the dishwasher and go back upstairs to brush my teeth and hair. Soon, my teeth are clean, my hair is in two braids, and I'm snuggled under my covers reading my book again. At about 11:15, I hear mom walk in the door and greet Aunt Liz. I strain my ears to listen to their conversation; maybe they'll talk about this Austin Moon situation.

"Ally I was - oh my gosh you're crying! What's wrong?"

"We need to talk. Someone came to the restaurant tonight and I don't know what to do Liz!" Mom sobs. Aunt Liz must have understood who this "someone" was and starts to comfort mom.

"Shh... Ally... It'll be okay. It's only for two weeks. Just stay home and call in sick. I'll stay here. We'll get through this."

WHAT? I tiptoe out of bed and get closer to the stairs and listen hard.

"What are we going to do?" asks mom weakly.

"Start at the beginning and tell me what happened tonight. Then we'll figure out what to do".

YES! Finally. Case closed. I'm about to hear what this whole thing is about.

Or maybe not. They go into the guest room and close the door, leaving me confused. I head back to bed knowing eavesdropping would be futile; I can't hear anything from here. I turn over in my bed and try to get some sleep, but I stay up late into the night trying to put 2 and 2 together but not getting 4.

**So, longest chapter but still shorter than most people's chapters...**

**ANNOUNCEMENTS:**

**1. I have decided that starting in the next week or two, I will have a constant update scheduele of Monday and Friday.**

**2. Next Tuesday, my band class is going to Disney and will be back Friday morning. I might have time to write out the next chapter on the bus but I get motion sick easily so I'm not sure. I say all that to say: I don't know when my next update will be.**

**3. I have started a Pinterest page for the outfits for the characters. I'll "like" each outfit I use per chapter until the next chapter comes out, when the pins will be switched. Currently, I just have outfits for the girls. Rylie's outfit and Aubryn's scarf are there now... the web address is the standard pinterest thing with the . com and then /reaganmaree **

**That should be it! Thank you so much for reading, and don't forget to review!**

**~RM**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I'm sorry this is a day late. I was sick Sunday and Monday so I spent the majority of my day sleeping... However I will start updating regularly on Mondays and Fridays. A lot happens in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally**

Ally's POV

I rush around the room trying to find my black pants and black polo shirt. If I don't get changed and out the door soon, I'll be one step closer to losing my job. Liz is usually my "alarm" and when she comes, I know it's time to get ready. However, since Aubryn is going to Penton's house with Rylie Cate and Hunter today, Lizzy won't be over here until around 6. I need to be at the restaurant by 3 not 6. I resort to grabbing the pants I wore on Friday and the black shirt I found in the dryer. After changing, I throw my hair into a ponytail, put in some gold stud earrings that are shaped like roses with diamonds, and slip on my black tennis shoes. My bag is sitting in the foyer downstairs with all my belongings that I need in it. 2:50. I run downstairs and grab the bag before locking the front door and getting into my car. 8 minutes later I arrive at my destination and shut the engine off. I grab my bag and get out of the car, locking the doors over my shoulder. 2:59. Barely made it.

"Hey Ally, that was close. It's a good thing Jonathan hasn't been out of his office since he arrived this morning," my coworker Cordelle greets me. Cordelle was my mentor when I first came and I'm closest to her at the restaurant. But back to the more important topic: Jonathan hasn't been out of his office since he arrived. That never happens. He's usually out in the kitchen or dining area supervising us or cracking jokes.

"What's wrong?" I ask, now very curious.

"Apparently some celebrity made a reservation for dinner here tonight so Jonathan's really stressed out about it," our youngest waitress Brittany answers my question. A celebrity? I wonder who that could be. Jonathan should come out soon to instruct us or else I'll go into his office to talk to him about this. We've had a few celebrities here before so this isn't entirely new and Jonathan shouldn't be stressing out. What's different about this time? At about that moment, Jonathan himself comes rushing out of his office.

"Okay guys, one of the most famous celebrities will be here tonight. I'm not allowed to tell you who it is because they want to keep it down low. I want you to treat them like a regular person, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You all know the drill; we've had celebrities before. Now, Brittany I'm going to put this person at one of your tables. Do you think you can handle that?" Britt nods at our boss when he glances over at her before he continues to talk.

"Their reservation is at 8. We open in less than an hour so get started!"

I start taking chairs down from the tables and then wrap some silverware in napkins. Pretty soon , it's 4 and we open up. The first two hours after we open are usually pretty low key. Business picks up a bit around 6 but it gets really busy at 7. We close at 10. I'm supposed to be at work an hour before we open and an hour after we close. Some people are here longer, some people are here less than that.

I only have to wait on a few people in then beginning, but by 7:30 all my tables are full and I'm rushing around trying to keep all my customers happy. As I hurry by Brittany carrying an order, I see her fixing her appearance in the mirror before nodding at her reflection satisfactorily. She must be getting ready for that celebrity.

At around 8:05 I hear clicks and see flashes through the tinted front windows. That celebrity must be here. Britt starts talking smoothly as if this was a regular customer. She leads this person over to a table and I turn back to my work. I know better than to try and see who this mysterious person Jonathan was stressing out over. Britt will be gushing all about it while we clean up the restaurant after we close. Cordelle and I walk past each other and stop to talk.

"Who do you think it is?" I ask her

"I've never seen so many paparazzi in my life."

"This is one famous celebrity," I agree.

"Maybe it's Sarah Morris. She's pretty popular." As soon as Cordelle said that, I felt a sour taste in my mouth. Sarah was Austin's fiancé after I left him. Sure I'm glad he moved on, but with Sarah? She was really mean to me when she found out I was dating Austin and I'm sure she was ecstatic when she had Austin to herself. Just a stroke of luck they were in a movie together huh? But jokes on her. They were engaged but nothing happened and now Austin has moved on leaving a dumbstruck Sarah in his wake. I snap out of my reverie, nod at Cordelle, and then head into the kitchen. What would make Delle think Sarah Morris is here?

I come back out of the kitchen carrying 4 plates in my hand and deliver them to a group of people. As I turn back towards the kitchen, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I spin around to find Britt.

"Hey. So who is it?" I immediately ask her.

"I'll let you find out. But he ordered alcohol."

So it's a he? Britt is 17 so she can't handle alcohol yet and whenever one of her customers orders it, I'll deliver it. This is perfect. I get to see who "he" is.

"Here's the order. Do you have any tables that need help?" She hands me the order and asks me.

"Just see how their meal is. Everyone should be taken care of for now. " I glance at the order and head into the kitchen. Once the glass is full, I walk towards Brittany's section. I spot this celebrity pretty fast. People keep glancing at him and he's by himself. Adjusting my nametag, I head towards him.

"Hi! I'm - Au- Ally," I cover up my mistake and continue on smoothly. I set down the glass with shaking hands. He looks up to thank me and I see his brown eyes widen.

"You said your name was Ally?" He glances at my name tag which confirms his question.

"Um... Yes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go get Brittany to finish off your dinner," I hastily turn around as I finish my sentence. I walk away towards Britt and I feel his eyes on me.

"He's all taken care of. If he wants more-" I leave my sentence hanging and grab my phone and then hurry to the bathroom calling over my shoulder, "Can you keep an eye on my section?" When I reach the bathroom, I run into a stall and lock the door. I start sobbing uncontrollably. Austin Moon, my ex-fiancé, is sitting at a table in the restaurant I work at. Why does this have to happen? I left Miami to raise my daughter in peace; I left to save Austin's career. I hear the door to the bathroom open slowly and a male voice tentatively asks, "Hello?"

I manage to choke out a decent "wrong bathroom" and wait for the door to open and close again so I can clean myself up and finish my shift. The only problem: the door never opens. Instead the male continues, "Ally? Come on out. Please." This person sounds so broken yet so hopeful. Feeling sympathetic, I unlock the door and step out, regretting this decision an instant later. Standing in the middle of the bathroom is none other than Austin Moon. I hurriedly turn back around and open up the stall door except a tight grip on my shoulder stops me.

"No," is all he says.

"Excuse me?"

"Ally. Don't leave me again. I can't bear to get so close only to lose you again."

I start to panic.

"I don't think I'm who you think I am. I mean you're Austin Moon. I'm just a waitress at a restaurant in a tiny town in Nebraska".

"Alessia Melodie Dawson! I know it's you and you need to accept that." His voice starts to rise and he looks very upset. I turn towards the mirror, adjusting my appearance so it didn't look I had been crying. Austin just stands there confused, looking at my hand. I know I need to leave but I just have to ask him what's wrong.

"What?"

"Where's your ring? Shouldn't you be married or something? That is why you left me isn't it?" Austin bombards me with questions. He thought I left him for another guy? That's impossible! Austin is the only guy I ever loved. Sure I LIKED Dallas and maybe some kid in 3rd grade but I've only LOVED Austin.

"Austin, I would never leave you for someone else. As a matter of fact, I haven't dated anyone since you. But I see you've gotten along just fine." I don't mean to be rude but I'm just so overwhelmed and now he's jumping to ridiculous conclusions.

"Ally, I didn't know if you'd ever be back! You left with no warning and a text that didn't elucidate anything. It's been over 14 years for goodness sakes!" My phone makes a noise before he can continue. I grab it thankful for the distraction. Lizzy texted:

_Ally! Austin is in Omaha! Be careful! We'll talk more when you get back. Bryn made it home._

I groan. "Great warning Liz," I mumble.

"Your boyfriend miss you?" Austin interrupts my thoughts on my dilemma.

"Austin! You know what? I give up! I already told you I haven't been in a relationship since I dated you and I need to get back to work anyway. Forget this ever happened. Have a good life Austin." I spin around, open the door and walk back out into the dining area before the tears start to fall. Angrily, I wipe them away. I need to pull myself together and finish the night. Brittany is over at one of my tables and I thank her for helping me out before I take over again. Every now and then, I look over at Austin's table and he's staring back at me each time. He leaves eventually, except I choose unfortunate that moment to brush by him to get to the kitchen and he reaches over and stuffs something into my back pocket. I think nothing of it and soon forget about it.

Half an hour later, the last customer leaves and we start to clean up the restaurant. Soon a conversation starts up about Austin.

"Who was it Britt?" Anslee asks.

"Yeah? Who was it? Were they really that famous?" Cordelle chimes in.

Britt answers their questions excitedly, "You'll never guess! It was Austin Moon!"

"THE Austin Moon!?" Two other waitresses exclaim in disbelief and Brittany nods. I quietly walk around cleaning while everyone else chatters excitedly. One of the male waiters, Charlie, comes over to me.

"No fangirling?" He asks.

"Haha no. I served him alcohol so I got to meet him live and in action! Yay!" I sarcastically answer.

"Okay Ms. Smart-Aleck, great talk. Looks like I'm done here. I'll see you tomorrow." Charlie tells me before he heads over to the staff room to grab his stuff. Yeah right. I'm not coming back for at least a week. But instead of voicing my thoughts, I smile brightly and tell him "goodbye".

"Ally? Is something wrong? You've been awfully quiet for the past few hours. I'll finish up for you. Go on home," Cordelle tells me.

"Thank you so much Delle. I've got a lot on my mind right now. I owe you one." I walk over to the staff room to gather my belongings and then head out to my car. Once I sit down on the car seat, I feel something poke my butt. That's when I remember Austin put something in my back packet. I pull a note out from my pocket and open it up. It's written on a napkin. Typical Austin. Should I read it? I might get reattached if read it. I rule against my better judgement and scan the letter; tears start to pool at my eyes and then slowly begin to fall.

_Ally,_

_I'm sorry for yelling at you and accusing you of leaving me for someone else. I was just so confused. I haven't seen you for nearly 15 years. 15 years Ally! And now here you are 20 miles away from a place I've been to nearly 5 times? I'm just so lost right now. Please call me. I miss you and I love you so very much. Abbie and Sarah mean nothing if there is still a chance to be with you. Please accept my apology. _

_Love, Austin_

He left his phone number at the bottom of the napkin. I bang my head against the steering wheel and produce a little angry scream. I sit there motionless in my car for a few more minutes before starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot, headed towards home.

When I arrive, I see the living room and kitchen lights on. Lizzy hurries over immediately when she sees me.

"Ally I was- oh my gosh you're crying! What's wrong?" She exclaims after she takes note of my appearance.

"We need to talk. Someone came to the restaurant tonight and I don't know what to do Liz!" I sob. Liz knows who I'm talking about and she starts to soothe me.

"Shh... Ally... It'll be okay. It's only for two weeks. Just stay home and call in sick. I'll stay here. We'll get through this."

"What are we going to do?" I ask her weakly.

"Start at the beginning and tell me what happened tonight. Then we'll figure out what to do." I know Bryn is probably listening in even though it's past her bedtime so I lead Liz into the guest room. I start from the time I arrived at work to now and the tears start to fall again halfway through. When it's finally done Lizzy is sitting next to me rubbing circles on my back.

"Come on Ally, let's get you to bed. I'll stay overnight and we'll talk about this more after Bryn goes to school. I'll take care of her in the morning. Don't bother waking up." She tells me her plan as we walk over to the staircase together.

"Thank you Lizzy. You're a life saver. I'm so thankful I met you when I moved here. But wait, should I call him?"

"Not tonight at least Ally. We'll talk about it more when you get up. I'm going to be in the guest room. Try to get some sleep; you've been through a lot today. Goodnight." Lizzy gives me one last hug and then turns back down the hallway towards the guest room. Once I'm upstairs, I do my usual routine and hop into bed. Of course I just had to see my old engagement ring which brings on another round of tears. That night was one of the few nights I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

10 a.m. Wow, did I sleep in! I hear movement downstairs and with that noise comes all the memories of last night. With a sigh, I swing my legs over the bed, allow my feet to find my slippers, and grope around the nightstand for my glasses. I head downstairs and towards the amazing smell coming from the kitchen.

"Good morning Ally! Bryn left on time and all is well. She was pestering me with questions about last night, so have fun with that tomorrow morning. Cinnamon French toast?" Lizzy updates me on the morning before offering me a plate that has 3 slices of French Toast with a butter pallet drenched in syrup on it. I graciously accept the pancakes, thankful she hasn't directly mentioned last night. I start a casual conversation to be able to avoid the topic of Austin until after breakfast. We joke about multiple things all throughout breakfast but the moment my plate is situated in the dishwasher, the light mood is quickly replaced with a much more serious. Liz and I head into the living room, mugs filled with coffee in our hands. I snuggle into the oversized armchair, tucking my feet under me and Liz settles directly opposite me on the couch.

"So..." I start.

"What are you going to do Ally? He's supposed to leave in about two weeks but now that he knows you're here, things might change. You can't hide here for the rest of your life. I'm going to try to be comforting during this conversation and I'm on your side, but I'm also going to be blunt with you on this entire matter," Liz dives right into the problem at hand. No easing in for her.

"I'm going to call in sick tonight so I can gather my thoughts but I'll get back into routine tomorrow. I think I'll call him and talk things out with him this afternoon. Oh gosh, this is going to be very difficult. And what about Aubryn? I can't just take her out of school for two weeks. And like you said earlier, she's curious. What am I supposed to tell her? 'Oh yeah by the way sweetie, your dad is Austin Moon and he's here for the next two weeks. I'm going to need you to not tell anybody and stay in the house. What do you want for dinner tonight?' Do you have any ideas?" I lay out my plan before remembering about my daughter and what to do for her. I try to calm myself by taking a sip of coffee.

"Ally you've gotten through this before. Keep the normal routine with Aubryn and act like everything is fine. You'll come up with a good excuse as to why we flipped out last night. I don't know if I'd call Austin but whatever works for you, I'll back you up. You know what? We're going to go out to eat tonight. Just the two of us. Bryn will be fine by herself for one night."

"I don't know Liz-"

"We're going and that's final. I'm going to go home and I'll be back here at 7." Lizzy interrupts me and her tone lets me know she won't take "no" for an answer.

"Okay. Where are we going?"

"Just dress nice. I'll see you tonight. Good luck Ally. Call me if anything goes wrong." Liz gets up and gathers her belongings and walks towards the door.

After Liz leaves, I go back up to my room and get ready for the day. First I go into my bathroom to do my hair and brush my teeth. I'll do my makeup later. I let my hair out of the messy bun it was in and brush it out. The hair is left cascading around my shoulders. Once I'm satisfied with the way my hair looks, I brush my teeth. After that, I go into my closet and browse the possibilities. I slip out of my plaid pajama pants and into a pair of jeans. I take off my cami and replace it with a black tank top. I put on a black sheer shirt with colorful flowers over the tank top and an army green cardigan that ties around the waist on top of that. I tie the cardigan and check my final appearance one last time before heading downstairs.

It's already noon but before I make lunch, I clean up the mess from breakfast. 30 minutes later the dishes are put away and the counters sparkle. I grab out the ingredients for my lunch. Today I have decided to forgo the healthy route and have a cheese and bacon panini. 1 o'clock comes around and I finish off my lunch. I do a quick reclean of the kitchen and start a light cleaning of the house. 2 hours of procrastination later, the house looks presentable. The clock in the living room starts to ding, signaling it's 3 o'clock. 3 o'clock... Crap! I forgot to call in sick. I grab my phone and dial in the restaurant's number. After 2 and a half rings, someone picks up.

"Hello?" I hear Cordelle's voice on the other end.

"Hey Cordelle, it's Ally-"

"Ally? Where are you? Jonathan is pretty mad."

"Yeah about that... I can't come today. I'm sorry but I just don't feel too well. "

"Oh okay. I'll tell Jonathan. Get better soon!" I hear a click at the other end. Bryn should be home in about an hour, so if I'm going to call Austin, it's now or never. The piece of paper with his phone number is in my bedroom which means upstairs I go! I retrieve the piece of paper but I left my phone downstairs. Downstairs I go! Finally I have everything I need and with shaking hands I dial the number at the bottom of the napkin. This is too much to handle so I sit down in the chair I was sitting in earlier when I declared I would do what I'm doing now to Liz.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri-.

"Hello? This is Austin. Who is this?" He answers the phone like he always did. I take a deep breath and answer him,

"Austin, it's Ally Dawson." Calm down Ally. It'll be okay. It'll be okay. I chant this in my head as I wait for him to answer. After a few moments of silence on his end, I speak again.

"Austin? You there? Look I'm sorry if you didn't want me to call. I'll just hang up now..."

"Ally, wait! Don't leave. Don't leave me again," he says the last part very quietly but I could still hear him. "Listen Als, I'm sorry I accused you of cheating on me last night. But I wouldn't if you told me why you left." Straight to the point. Great. Austin and Liz would be great friends.

"Austin. I'm sorry but I can't tell you. You have this huge career and I'll just bring it crashing down. You have what's her face? Oh yeah. You have Abbie now. Be content with that. I'm doing just fine. I've got a job and friends and a house and an amazing daugh- dog. Yup. Job, friends, house, dog. That's me!" That was way too

close, I almost told Austin the reason why I left. I continue on, "Yes I miss you and I miss us but I can't go back now. Listen, I'm going to need you to not come back to restaurant. I don't know if I can face you and I can't just skip out on work, that would result in me losing my job. I can't loose my job. I have a family I need to provide for."

"A family?" Austin asks. Crap. Why Ally? Why?

"Yup. A family of friends. We just like to refer to ourselves as a family. A lot easier to do. You ever done that before? Extremely helpful. You know what? Speaking of family, how's yours? I talked to mine when Aub- when I was 30. Finally reconnected. It was great!" I would of continued to ramble if Austin hadn't cut me off.

"Als! You're rambling. You only do that when you're nervous. What's wrong? And why do you keep contradicting yourself?"

"Just stressed. The last 24 hours have been pretty eventful."

"Oh yeah. Okay," he replies not sounding all too convinced. "I won't go back to restaurant. Keep your job Ally. But this isn't the last you'll hear from me. Do you want to go somewhere and grab a bite to eat?"

"Thanks Austin. We do need to talk things out. I'm available from 9am to 2 pm on weekdays. You're Mr. Hotshot Celebrity, what time works for you?"

"We'll I'm currently on break from work. So how does tomorrow at 10 for brunch sound? You're Ms. Nebraska Native, where's a good place to go?"

"Um... Tomorrow sounds great. There's this place about halfway in between Valley and Omaha. I'll text you the details. See you tomorrow Austin." I don't know what comes over me but before I hang up, I say something I haven't told any guy in 14 years, "I love you". I hear a sharp intake of breath before Austin responds, "I love you too, Ally." We both hang up and I check the time. 3:40. I have about 20 minutes until Bryn comes home, so I decide to call Liz and tell her what happened. She answers on the first ring.

"Hey Ally! Did you call Austin?" Once again, straight to the point Liz!

"Yeah I did," I respond.

"What did he say?" She interrupts me.

"If you didn't interrupt, I would've told you. We talked and I nearly told Austin about Bryn 3 times. 3 times Liz! I don't know how I'll be able to talk to him face to face with him tomorrow without giving away my secret."

"Wait, hold up. Face to face? What happened?" She interrupts me once again. She's a big fan of doing that apparently.

"Yeah. We're meeting tomorrow for brunch to talk things out. He suggested it and I agreed. While I talked to him, I realized just how much I missed him and how much I want to see him. And then right before we hung up, I said 'I love you' and he said the same thing back. What's that suppose to mean? I'm so lost right now."

"Well Ally, I really don't know what to say to that. I'm sorry but I have to go. Shouldn't Bryn be home soon anyhow? Good luck with explaining last night to her Ally. I'll see you at 7. Goodbye."

"Bye," I say disheartened. She just had to remind me about Aubryn. Speaking of Aubryn, I hear the front door open and close followed by,

"Hey Aunt Liz, I'm home!" I get off the chair and slip my phone into my back pocket. I walk towards the foyer where Bryn drops her stuff off.

"Hey sweetie," I start and she turns around.

"Mom? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work? Where's Aunt Liz?" She asks me. So far so good. No questions about last night.

"So what was wrong last night? Is that why Aunt Liz was here this morning and you're here right now?" Spoke too soon.

"Well sweetie, grab a snack and meet me in the living room. We need to talk." She nods and we head off in different directions; her towards the kitchen and me towards the living room. I sit back down in the armchair and a few minutes later, Bryn comes in holding a bowl of apple slices and caramel sauce and sits down on the couch. She starts dipping a slice into the caramel and looks at me while she chews. Okay. Calm down Ally.

"So someone came to the restaurant last night. Someone I didn't want to have to see again. Aunt Liz knows who this is and she was trying to warn me. When I got home last night I talked to her and she told me to go to bed and she would stay over to take care of you this morning so I could sleep in. This person has been looking for me for quite a while and now knows where I work so they could easily come back and I can't face them. I called in sick today but everything will return to normal tomorrow. I don't want you to think too much of this. Just carry on like nothing happened." That's pretty good right? I feel like I did good job of explaining this situation to her until she asks another question.

"Who is this person?" I can't treat her like a 5 year old anymore. I have to tell her. I could either say 'Austin' or just 'your father' but not both.

"A man named Austin." I settle with that. She probably knows it's Austin Moon. I'll know in 5, 4, 3, 2, here we go.

"You mean Austin Moon? Aunt Liz was watching the news last night and he was on it and she muttered something about you. How do you know him?"

"I- He- We- We used to be friends," I stutter out.

"When was this? Oh my gosh! It's a good thing I'm not like Rylie Cate or else you'd have a serious problem on your hands. She is a die hard Austin Moon fan. Why didn't-" Aubryn exclaims. I cut her off before she can ask anymore questions.

"Aunt Liz and I are going out tonight, so you'll be by yourself. I trust you okay? And no more questions about Austin. Don't you have homework? Please go get it done." She nods and grabs her backpack and heads up to her room. Sighing I take out my phone and text Liz:

_I told Bryn. Not sure how to explain what happened. I'll tell you tonight._

I replace my phone in my pocket and head upstairs. It's nearly 5 so I might as well get ready.

I put in my contacts and then start on my makeup. I don't go all crazy, just some mascara and eyeliner. After that I brush out my hair and curl it. I grab a barrette to hold back the ringlets. With one last look, I walk out of my bathroom and towards my closet. I push hangers right and left as I walk around. All of a sudden, I trip over a shoe I forgot to put away and I stick my hands out for balance, grabbing onto a box that opens up and spills its contents all over the floor. Once I steady myself, I grab the box and start to put everything away. The only problem is that this box hold all of my memories with Austin. I check the clock on my bedside table and see I have enough time to go through some of these things. I didn't want Bryn to find out about Austin so I packed anything and everything that had to do with my old life with Austin away. In this box there are pictures, notes, our wedding invitation, an award or two, music, a few pieces of jewelry he got me, and my songbook. One of the only "Austin things" that isn't in the box is my engagement ring. I sit in my closest for about 30 minutes reminiscing before I remember the original reason I was in here. I pack everything back up and choose an outfit for tonight. After shedding my previous outfit, I put on a sleeveless, light blue, high-low dress with a jean jacket and brown accessories: a thin belt, a set of bangle bracelets, dangle earrings with a gem, a cross body purse, and sandals. It's 6:50 so I walk over to Aubryn's room where she is packing up her school materials. She hears noise and turns towards me.

"Wow Mom, you look gorgeous."

"Thank you sweetie. Now, I'm sure you can find something to eat and be safe. I'll be home before 11. Love you. Bye." I give her a hug and go downstairs to wait for Liz. 2 minutes later she drives up and I walk over to her car.

"Hey!" She greets me when I open the door.

"Hi Liz."

"So how'd the talk with Bryn go?"

"I told her I met someone at the restaurant and it was overwhelming and that everything would return to normal tomorrow. I thought I was good to go until she asked me who this someone was so I told her it was a guy named Austin. She figured out the rest. I told her we used to be friends. And before she could ask anything else, I told her to go get her homework done. But let's please forget about this tonight. Let's just go eat and talk about something exciting," I catch her up on the details and then banish the subject for the rest of the night.

Our dinner was delicious and not once did we mention Austin. Soon enough, it was time for us to go home and after thanking Liz for forcing me to go out tonight, I let myself into the house and go to bed, slightly worried for tomorrow's meeting with Austin.

* * *

**So I don't like having multiple POV's per chapter but I'm not going to dedicate a whole chapter to just Aubryn. So, I've decided to tack her on to the end here... Enjoy!**

* * *

Aubryn's POV

I hear a loud noise come from my Mom's room and I get up from my desk to go investigate. Noiselessly, I walk into her room and see the closet door ajar and the light on. She's seated on the ground going through a box full of different items. I see her hold up a picture. It's one of younger her and... AUSTIN MOON?! Oh I'm definitely looking through that box once she leaves for dinner with Aunt Liz. I quietly tiptoe back out and finish my homework. 45 minutes later, Mom stops by my bedroom door and lays out the ground rules. I nod and she gives me a hug and leaves. Soon the front door opens and closes and I head downstairs to fix myself some dinner. I settle on a single serve portion of Mac & Cheese and while I eat, I text Rylie. I'm tempted to tell Rylie about how my mom was friends with Austin Moon, but I know that Mom probably wouldn't be too excited I told someone. Which reminds me: that box in Mom's closet. I finish off my Mac & Cheese and tidy up the kitchen before telling Rylie I had to do something and run upstairs.

After 5 minutes of searching, I find the box and I sit down to look through it. There are a bunch of pictures rubber banded together. I go through these first. There's some pictures of mom with Austin, with Austin's manager, and with Austin's video director. Mom knew Trish de La Rosa and Dez too? Wow. Then one of the more shocking ones, Mom and Austin kissing. Just friends huh Mom? There's one of mom and Austin on a stage performing a duet. There's some of mom and Trish together and Austin and Dez together. Plenty of pictures of them all together too. After I flip through all the pictures, I put the rubber band back around them and set them back where they were. Next up are a lot of notes kept together by a paper clip. They're all from Austin to Mom and they're all sweet little notes that someone would leave for their significant other on the fridge or something. Underneath the letters, there's a wedding invitation. I grab it and open it up. I have to blink twice at what's inside:

_Please Join Us in Celebrating the Marriage of_

_Alessia Melodie Dawson_

_to_

_Austin Monica Moon_

_on the 7th of November _

_at Miami Beach_

_RSVP by September 2nd_

I'm sorry, what? They were engaged? My mom was about to marry THE Austin Moon. And then something hits me: I was born in June the year after they were supposed to be married. That means Mom was pregnant before she was married. So either Mom cheated on Austin with another famous person and she had to move to not be embarrassed or my father is Austin Moon. Either way, my father is famous, Mom already told me that. Then I remember Mom's tattoo. It's a crescent moon. Austin MOON. My father is Austin Moon. I finally got the 4 I was trying to find last night. Austin Moon is my father. I hurriedly look through the rest of the box for proof. There's some awards: Austin Moon for Best Song of the Year and lots of other ones like that. Mainly about the song itself. There's also some sheet music of some old Austin Moon songs. At the top corner of all the songs, I see "written by Ally Dawson". That must be why Mom has all the awards about the songs. She wrote those songs and Austin gave the awards to her. That's so sweet. I see some jewelry, but I overlook that because underneath everything else, is a book. There's a big "A" on the front along with other little decorations. I open it up and start at the beginning. I'm a fast reader and I'm almost 3/4 of the way through it in 30 minutes. This thing seals the deal and soon I know all about my Mom's life in Miami. Towards the end I read about how Mom got pregnant and didnt want to hurt Austin's career so she left. This means I am Austin Moon's daughter. Wow. I put everything back into the box and put the box back up on the shelf, promising myself to go through it more thoroughly next time I have the chance.

It's already 9:45 when I get back to my room, so I take a shower to clear my mind. By 10:15, I'm ready for bed and I'm snuggled under my comforter with my laptop opened up on my lap. I start researching all about Austin Moon and Ally Dawson and I finally have the whole puzzle put together. I shut my laptop and curl up into a little ball under the covers but I stay wide awake having a mental fight about whether or not I should confront Mom about this.

**So Austin and Ally met again and Aubryn knows who her dad is. Should she tell Ally that she knows? I don't know if she will or not so what do y'all think she should do? Also, it's a pretty long chapter right? It's almost 3x longer than the other ones.**

**Don't forget to check the pinterest page that I mentioned in Chapter 4. There are new outfits up now. Please review!**

**~Reagan Maree **


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry I missed updating on Friday. I wasn't sure where I wanted this chapter to go. However, I figured it out and here is a FYOG Chapter 6!**

**One quick question to answer: **

**_AusllyGirl123:_**** Austin and Ally are both 34 and Aubryn is 14.**

**Great. If anyone else has question, feel free to ask them! **

**One last note before the disclaimer: Arlene Anderson is Rylie Cate's mom if I didn't make that clear.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally.**

Austin's POV

I check my clothing ensemble one last time before heading out of the hotel to the restaurant Ally texted me directions to. I had on jeans, a white v-neck and a fancy-casual black jacket. I had some black shoes on and my hair was in its usual organized-mess hairstyle. I grab my phone and go down the stairs to the parking for the hotel. I've learned from past experiences to avoid taking the elevator in public places like hotels or malls. It can be kind of awkward if you're not the only person in the elevator because people are either really big fans, hate your guts and wish you didn't exist or don't care (the don't care people are the best). I get into the car I rented and check my phone for the directions. 15 minutes later I arrive at a quaint restaurant. I sit in my car for a few minutes because I'm early. When I was 18, I finally realized it would be a good idea to be early or on time for meetings and appointments or else I might not have a job.

I don't know what Ally's car looks like, so I'll just have to wait until 10 and if she doesn't pull up, I'll go inside. At 9:59, a car turns into the parking lot and I see Ally in the driver's seat. I get out of my car and walk over to where she parked. She looks beautiful. She's wearing coral colored pants and a gray shirt. There's a light pink scarf around her neck and hanging on her arm is a pink and gray bag. She steps one tiny gray flat onto the pavement and swings her other foot beside it when she steps out of the car. When she acknowledges me, her little pink earrings swing.

"H-hey Austin," she stutters.

"Hi Ally. How are you?"

"I'm good. Let's go in, we have a lot to talk about." She walks in front of me but when we reach the door, I reach over her tiny frame to pull it open. She nods graciously and walks inside with me trailing behind. She smiles when she sees someone.

"Hi Arlene. How are you?" She greets a blonde haired woman.

"I'm great Ally. Who's this? Oh I know you! You're that guy that sings and is in all those movies. My daughter's a huge fan..." She trails off.

"Oh that's great to hear. I'm Austin Moon," I say shaking her hand.

"Oh yes. That's who it is. Austin Moon. Well Austin, I'm Arlene Anderson."

She turns her attention back to Ally.

"Rylie invited Bryn to the mall this afternoon. Did she tell you? I'll be taking them," Arlene keeps talking but I ignore her and look at Ally. She looks a little panicked. Ally quietly asks Arlene for a second and tells me to go find us a table. I oblige and I feel her watch me before she turns back to Arlene. Once I find a table, I sit down and pull out my phone. I hear a beautiful laugh and I look over to see Ally now talking animatedly to Arlene, which is kind of weird considering that she was deathly quiet earlier. My phone makes a little noise and I unlock it to see a text from Trish.

_Dez told me you found Ally. Give me her number or else I'll come to wherever you guys are._

So I told Dez I found Ally and all that had happened since Monday night when I called him this morning. He was pretty calm about it but I guess he told Trish. Oh well. I respond to Trish:

_I don't know... I'll ask Ally. Maybe she'll call you._

There's a presence at the opposite side of the table. I look up from my phone to see Ally.

"Hi," I say

"Hi."

Our brilliant conversation gets interrupted by a waitress.

"Hello. My name is Samantha, I'll be serving you today. Would you like anything to drink?" Samantha asks. She seems to be one of those "don't care" people I mentioned earlier. I tell her my order and then I look at Ally. She tells the waitress what she wants and Samantha walks away. I look straight at Ally and start our serious talk.

"What have you been up to?"

"Well, when I came here, I moved into an apartment next to a girl my age. Her name's Liz, she knows about you. Maybe you'll meet eventually. I got a job as a secretary and I kept that job for about 7 years, until the company went out of business. Then I got the job I have now as a waitress. 3 years ago I reconnected with my parents because I knew you weren't talking to them anymore and they come up each year for Christmas now. Like I said on Monday, I haven't dated anyone else since I left Miami. What about you? I know the paparazzi's story, what's the real thing?" Ally caught me up on her life and about half way through, our drinks came.

"Well, for about 4 months after you left, I didn't really do too much, just kind of went through the motions. You probably heard about what I told the paparazzi about your absence," she nods and I continue," 2 years later I got into acting and met Sarah Morris." She makes a face at this. "What? What's wrong with Sarah?"

"I knew her when we were teenagers. She would fight with me about you, claiming that I stole you from her. I'm sure she was on Cloud 9 when you became free again. Stroke of amazing luck you were in a movie together huh?" She enlightens me bitterly. What? Neither Ally nor Sarah ever told me about that.

"What? I'm sorry Ally. I didn't know that was happening. But back to the story, we dated on and off three years, I proposed but we were just so busy and couldn't set a wedding date. I was never fully committed to Sarah, part of me always was with you. Sarah wasn't too happy about this - I now know why - and we decided to split up. Then I met Abbie Stafford on another movie. We hated each other from the start, filmed the movie, and went our separate ways. Next year we met again, restarted our relationship and we've dated for two years. I haven't proposed to her, and I'm not sure if I will. Um... Been on tour a few times, I've been in movies, what else do you want to know?"

"How are Dez and Trish doing?"

"They're good. Speaking of Trish, she wanted me to give her your phone number. I told her that I would give you her number so you could call her if you wanted to. Trish got into fashion and she's still my manager, along with being a manager for a couple of other people. She's incredibly busy. Dez has been busy too except instead it's with all his movies. Oh yeah! Biggest news is Dez and Trish get along now. That was the best thing that came from you leaving. They toned down the fighting for me and it just kind of stuck." She looks at me before quietly asking,

"What's Trish's phone number?" We both pull out our phones and I relay the number while Ally types it in. When Ally unlocked her phone, I noticed her screen saver was of her and girl about 13 or 14. After she has Trish's number in her phone, I ask her about that picture.

"Who's that girl in your screen saver?"

She looks kind of flustered as she answers.

"That's um... That's Liz's daughter. Yeah. She got ahold of my phone and changed my lock screen picture."

Samantha comes back and Ally visibly relaxes.

"What would you like to have to eat?"

"Um... I'll go with a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with hash browns," Ally orders first.

"And I'll have a stack of pancakes," I follow Ally's order with my usual.

Ally smiles, "So you still love pancakes Austin?"

"Yup. There will never be a day that I don't love pancakes."

She laughs and I smile when she does; I've missed that laugh. Unfortunately, as soon as I ask my next question, she'll stop.

"Ally, I'll ask you one more time and that I won't bother you about this again. Why did you leave?" Sure enough, once I ask her, all signs of laughter leave.

"Look Austin, I can't tell you why. Maybe I will eventually, like at least 5 years eventually. I'm sorry but I can't. And thank you for not asking about this. I don't know how much longer I can go. So how's your relationship with Abbie?"

"You really want to know?" She opens her mouth to speak but then just nods.

"Okay. Um. Well we're good. She's a bit over-attached but she's an independent business woman. A very glamorous independent business woman." I abruptly change subjects because I realized I had a lot of questions for her. Who cares about Abbie right now?

"How much do you know about my life? Did you cut off all ties or-?" I start off the questions and Ally looks at me a bit surprised by the change of subject.

"Well- I mean- I guess- I didn't stalk you but I would see you on magazine covers when I went shopping. There's always stuff on the news about you, nothing bad thank goodness. And maybe I'd Google** (don't own)** your name once or twice."

She plays with her hands and I notice a tattoo on her ring finger.

"And what's that?" I point to it.

"A tattoo?"

"Yeah duh. What is it supposed to mean? What is it?"

"It's a crescent moon. For you. It's where the engagement ring was. I couldn't keep the ring on but I could have a tattoo to remember it. Speaking of which, I have the ring in my bag if you wanted it back." She grabs her purse and opens it up. With a determined look, she gropes around in her bag before triumphantly bringing out a little black box. She pushes it towards me.

"Here."

I push it back.

"No keep it. I don't need it for anything. Remember me that way." She nods and puts it back in her bag. "But back to the tattoo. You really got that for me?" I'm honestly amazed that Ally would get a tattoo much less one in honor of me.

"Yeah. It's a moon like your last name."

"That's sweet Ally."

Our food comes and we start to eat. After a content silence, I restart the questioning.

"How do you know Arlene?"

"She has a daughter, Rylie Cate, and Rylie is friends with Liz's daughter. Arlene and I would see each other at different things."

"So tell me about Liz."

"Liz is my best friend in Nebraska. We were neighbors when I first came, so we struck up a friendship and it stuck. Her name's Elizabeth Coppage but she goes by Liz or Lizzy. She and her husband Ryan are incredibly nice. You might meet her, if we ever talk again after this."

"Do you want to talk to me after this?" I ask her.

"I'd like to have a friendly relationship with you," she responds. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. At least she doesn't want to not talk to me for the rest of our lives. Besides, it's not like we could just pick up where we left off. Plus, I'm already dating someone else.

We spend the next hour talking and catching up some more.

* * *

Ally's POV

"...and that is how Dez realized that zebras are indeed real," Austin finishes up a story and I laugh. My phone makes a noise and I take a peek at it to see a text from Bryn.

"Hold on. I need respond to this," I tell Austin and he nods. I unlock my phone and read the text.

_Can I go shopping with Ry this afternoon? Mrs. A is taking us. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this morning. You seemed a little zoned out. And don't worry, it's lunch time, we can be on our phones._

I was pretty off this morning wasn't I? My meeting with Austin was really stressing me out. I already told Arlene Bryn would go so I text back.

_Yes. I ran into Mrs. A earlier and said you could go. I'll tell Aunt Liz. Make sure you tell her what time you'll be home. See you tomorrow morning. Love you._

I then excuse myself and call Liz quickly. I walk a little ways away from the table so Austin can't hear.

"Hey Liz."

"How'd the meeting go?"

"We're still talking but so far so good. I'll tell you more about it tonight. I just called to tell you Aubryn is going shopping with a friend this afternoon. I told her to tell you when she'll be home. So you got some more free time. See you tonight."

"Sounds great. Bye Ally." Our conversation ends and I walk back to the table. Austin's back is to me and he's on his phone. As I pass him, I see he's texting Abbie. I sit down and wait for him to finish up. While I wait, my phone rings and I see that Bryn is calling me. Worried, I answer the phone and stand up while I start talking.

"Aubryn Harmony! Why in the world are you calling me during school? I don't care if you text, but call? And it's not lunchtime anymore. Oh my gosh young lady! Do you want detention or ISS?

"Mom, calm down. We get an early release day because there was a gas leak or something. I'm coming home. Penton's mom is coming to pick Ry, Hunter, Pen and me up. She'll drop each of us off. Ry and I will go to the mall on Saturday or something."

"Okay as long as you're not doing something that's not allowed. You don't know how much trouble you'd be in. Aunt Liz or I will be at home. See you soon, goodbye." I end the call and look up to see Austin watching me curiously. Crud. How much did he hear? I started talking before I was out of earshot. It doesn't matter, Aubryn takes top priority. I can always come up with another lie. My lying skills are better than I thought. That doesn't matter right now, I need to call Liz - again.

"Now what Ally?" She answers the phone.

"Well someone's in a mood. I was just calling to tell you this afternoon's plans just changed. There's a gas leak or something at the middle school, so Bryn got out early. One of her friend's mom's is dropping her off at home. She's not going shopping tonight. One of us has to be there. Are you free? Or should I go home?"

"Ally, I'm so sorry but you're going to have to go home or just trust Bryn by herself for an hour and a half."

"I guess I'll let her stay by herself; I'm not done talking to Austin, but please be there by 3. I've got to go to work still. See you soon."

"See you at 3"

I make one last phone call.

"Hey Mom! What's up?"

"Change of plans. Liz will be over at 3, but you're on your own until then. Be good. I'm trusting you. I love you Bryn."

"Okay mom, Love you too, bye."

I press the end call button and walk back to Austin.

"So why is Aubryn Harmony calling you during school? And follow-up question if I may, who is Aubryn Harmony?" He asks me when I sit down. Well that's how much he heard. I stall for time, by taking a sip of water. What should I tell him? I'm most definitely not saying she's mine. I could just say that she's Liz's; I've already started that lie. I don't really want to tell Austin her name though. He already thinks Bryn is Liz's; I'm digging myself into a very deep hole if I associate Bryn's name with Bryn's face. Austin will be incredibly mad if he knows I've been lying to him about this person to this extent. The second I say Aubryn Harmony is Liz's daughter, there's no going back. However, if no name is put to Liz's supposed daughter's face, I can easily change the entire identity of my made up person. I could also just come out and say I can't tell him. It'll draw a lot of attention to the fact that Aubryn somehow has something to do with me and I can't tell Austin about that fact. Not suspicious at all, right? I end up going with the third option.

"She's-she's- Yeah I can't tell you. Bye Austin, I'll talk to you later okay?" I drop a twenty on the table because I don't want to be any more rude than I already am by leaving and quickly gather my belongings.

"Ally? Wait. Don't leave." He too puts a twenty on the table and passes Samantha as he runs after me.

"Keep the change Samantha," I hear him call. By now I'm in my car and starting the engine. I know he's going to follow me so instead of going home, I go straight to the restaurant. Thankfully I had packed my work clothes and brought them along just in case I lost track of time. I'm nearly an hour early, but some of the other staff will already be there. I check my rearview and sure enough Austin is still following me. A red light stops me, and I take a minute to regain my composure and come up with a plan.

10 minutes later, I put my car in park and grab the black duffel bag that contains my uniform from the backseat. Austin got stalled at a traffic light but that doesn't mean he won't be here soon. From where he was, he could see that I pulled in here. I rush in the door.

"Ally! You're early. Is something wrong?" Cordelle is the first to notice me. I just nod and gather everyone who's in the dining room's attention.

"Hi! Listen if Austin comes in here, I'm not here. He probably won't believe you but just do whatever you can to keep him away from me, nothing violent though. And don't mention Aubryn!" Everyone nods and I hurry to the back room to change. Aubryn would come here every-now-and-then so almost everyone knows her and a portion of my story.

After I change outfits, I pull my hair that was previously cascading down my back into a ponytail. I straighten my name tag and quietly walk towards the dining room. Cordelle is talking to Austin. He looks pretty agitated.

"Mr. Moon, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. If Ally wants to talk to you, she'll do so. However, she needs to be able to do her job and you are hindering her from doing so." She speaks so calmly and sophisticated-ly. Is that even a word? That is not the about the matter at hand. Focus! I know I shouldn't be pushing my problems onto everyone else, so I step out from where I was watching and walk over to them.

"Thank you Delle," is all I say. The bickering pair turn towards me and Delle gives me a 'are you crazy?' look.

I take Austin by his arm and lead him over to a secluded table in the back. Everyone's looking at us and I signal for them to get back to work. They sheepishly go back to what they were doing before all the drama entered the building. Austin is patiently waiting as I gather my bearings. I take a deep breath before talking.

* * *

**So here's the usual AN:**

**1. Check the Pinterest Page. Ally's outfit is up. ****_I don't know if this matters or not but I don't own Pinterest..._**

**2. Don't forget to review!**

**3. Question: Should Ally tell Austin about Bryn in the next chapter? I honestly don't know if she will or not.**

** should be it. I don't know if there will be a chapter on Friday, I'm going on a mini road trip so... This means there's an 80% chance that a Chapter 7 will be here on Thursday, depending on how busy my week gets. If I don't post a chapter until Monday, I'll do my best to make it long. Maybe the longest chapter so far.**

**~Reagan Maree**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! I'm soooooooo sorry I haven't updated in about three weeks! I'm back now with a chapter. So, HERE! **

**Disclaimer: I don't Austin & Ally! **

**Ally's POV:**

"Listen Austin, I'll tell you why I left in a few minutes. However first I need to make a phone call. Please stay here." Austin nods and I get up to go to the staff room to retrieve my phone and call Liz. Before I tell Austin about Bryn, I need to tell Bryn about Austin. I pace back and forth while the phone rings. Finally, Liz answers.

"Ally? My goodness, what do you need now?"

"Are you still busy?"

"No, I'm free now. What do you need?"

"Can you go to my house, get Bryn and bring her to the restaurant?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"So I slipped up a little when I was with Austin. He overheard me talking to Bryn on the phone and then asked who she was. I ran and now I've decided to tell him. I want him and Bryn to meet. However, I'm going to need to talk to Aubryn first, so I'll need you to keep him entertained. He knows a little bit about you already and thinks Bryn is yours. Keep that story going for me, please. Text me when you arrive. I'll come out to meet you, I don't want Austin to see her yet."

"Wow, you're in some pretty deep dirt right now. I'm already at your house. See you in five. I'll text you when I pull up."

We hang up and I pocket my phone. I walk back out into the dining room and get started on work. Cordelle sidles up next to me and asks me what's going on. "Delle, as much as I'd love to tell you, I can't. Austin and I have some history and Bryn's involved and we need to talk about it. If he goes crazy, don't do anything to stop him. Depending on how it goes, I might not be able to work tonight." She looks at me curiously but before she can ask questions, my phone buzzes and I see a text from Liz saying she's here. I excuse myself and head outside. We greet each other and I give both of the girls hugs. I pull Liz to the side and start talking.

"Go on in and talk to him. Talk to him about anything. Just remember, right now, Bryn is yours except he doesn't know her name exactly. I'm going to talk to Bryn and then talk to Austin. Wish me luck." She does so and then walks into the building. I lead Aubryn to the bench in front of the restaurant. We sit, and I calm my nerves.

"Aubryn," I start. She looks up at me with her large, brown eyes, "I met up with Austin today and now he's in that building," I point, "waiting for me to tell him why I left so many years ago. I promised myself I wouldn't tell you about this until you were 18, but you're mature enough and the time has come a bit earlier than expected. Bryn," I take a very deep breath, "Austin Moon wasn't just a friend. He was my boyfriend, then fiancée and we thought he'd be my husband. However, something came up before we married and I left. You're that something. Austin Moon is actually-"

She cuts me off, "My father. Mom, I know. I figured out last night. I saw you looking through that box and once you left I went through it. I saw the wedding invitation and the pictures and everything else. It wasn't too hard to realize who my father was." Shocked, I start crying. She comes closer and hugs me.

"I'm not mad. Not at all. It was an incredibly brave thing for you to raise me on your own. I know your going through a lot. You're probably getting ready to go tell him about me. I'll be there, Aunt Liz will be there, heck, your coworkers will be there if you need any help. We're all backing you up." I smile at her through my tears, choosing to ignore the fact that she went through my stuff without permission.

"When did you become the encouraging mother?" She smiles back at me and I wipe away the tears. "He probably won't be too happy that I kept this from him for so long. If he gets mad and says anything that is mean towards you, don't take it to heart. He's mad at me and he doesn't know how to express himself, so he'll just take it out on everybody. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You mean so much to me, Aunt Liz, your friends, and everyone else."

She looks at me and laughs, "Look who's the encouraging Mother now."

"That's my job," I reply. We hug each other once more before we get up. I walk in front of her and open the door. Liz is sitting across from Austin in a booth talking and he's smiling. Cordelle notices us and walks up to Bryn and me. She hugs Aubryn and gives me a reassuring look. Anslee follows her and repeats her action.

"Thank you guys," I say to them. Aubryn grabs my hand and I walk over to the table Austin and Liz are sitting at. I clear my throat and they look up.

"Thank you Liz," I tell her.

"No problem Ally, good luck. How do you want to do this?"

"Can you wait somewhere else in here? I'll keep Bryn but if I break down, some reassurance would be nice. You'll know when I tell him." She nods and walks off. Leaving me and Austin looking at each other and Bryn hiding behind me. She wasn't shy, she just didn't want to make her presence known.

"Liz is nice. Good friend, very entertaining I must say. Are you planning on sitting down? Or do I need to stand up?" Austin starts. Bryn shuffles behind me and sits down in the cushioned seat and I join her. Austin studies her like she's a new specimen in the lab.

"Who's this?"

"This," _breathe Ally, breathe_. Bryn grabs my hand under the table, "This is Aubryn Harmony."

"Oh. Her face looks like the girl you said is Liz's." The girl in question shoots me a quizzical look. I return one that says, "I'll explain later."

"Well, Aubryn Harmony, I'm Austin Moon. Do you go by that? It seems a little weird. No offense if you do."

She smiles and replies, "I go by Aubryn or Bryn."

"Well then, Aubryn Coppage, it's nice to meet you." I clear my throat, dreading what's coming next.

"Actually Austin, that's not her name."

"Well then what is it?"

"It's Aubryn Harmony-"

"Does she go by the Harmony part or not? My god girl! Do you?" She shakes her head. "Well then what's wrong?"

"Her full name is Aubryn Harmony Dawson," I whisper.

"What did you say her last name was?"

"Dawson," I mumble.

"Speak UP!" His voice starts to rise.

"Her name is Aubryn Harmony Dawson," I say loudly.

"So how is she related? A long lost sister? Niece?"

"She's my daughter," I answer him, and for some reason I'm not nervous anymore.

"Your daughter? You said she was Liz's. How the fu- heck can she be yours?" I can tell that even though he's mad, he's trying hard not to curse in front of Bryn. "I lied okay? I lied. Bryn is mine. She's the reason I left you. We weren't married and I didn't want bad publicity for you."

"So you cheated." It's more of a statement then a question.

Bryn jumps in to defend me and my heart swells with pride, "No. My mother would never cheat. She is one of the most trustworthy people I've ever met. I cannot believe that you would even consider that idea."

"You," he points at Bryn, "You need to stay out of this. Why the hell are you even here? I am talking to your so called mother. I don't need a teenager listening in. "

"My mother-," Aubryn starts.

"I said you needed to stay out of this."

"Austin!" I will not have you talk to my daughter like that," I yell at him. All of a sudden he looses all his fire and just sighs.

"So she's mine?"

"Yes and I can tell you don't want to have anything to do with us so I'll let you go back to your celebrity life with Abbie. Now, I have work to do because I have a family to support," I stand up from the booth and Aubryn follows suit, "But there you go Austin, here's the reason I left you . And she's the best thing that ever happened to me. Aubryn," I turn my attention to my silent daughter, "I'll see you at home. Head on out to the car. I need to talk to Aunt Liz." She nods and I give her a hug whispering, "I'm sorry." She nods again and walks out to the car. Austin is behind me sitting with his head in his hands. "You're lucky there was a 13 year old sitting with us, or else it would have gotten a lot worse," I say to him through gritted teeth before turning on my heel to talk to Lizzy. She stands up and meets me halfway. She hugs me and I cry into her shoulder, so she rubs my back and calms me down.

"I'll take Bryn back to your house. We'll talk in depth tonight. It's nearly 4. Go get cleaned up and do your job." I nod and with one last squeeze, Lizzy leaves. I walk over to the bathroom, taking the long way because the direct way goes right by Austin. My makeup is smeared so I just wipe it all off. I try on a smile and my face doesn't look that bad. My hair is still in a ponytail except it's starting to fall out. I redo it except I wind the ponytail tightly and produce a simple bun. When I walk out, I see Jonathan talking to Delle.

"She had some personal issues to take care of," Delle argues.

"What the hell does that mean?" He questions. I walk over to stand by Brittany. Our backs are turned away from the fight. She's wrapping silverware and I join in.

"They're talking about you, you know right?" She whispers to me, acknowledging my presence.

"I guessed as much," I reply. Before either one of us has a chance to continue, a loud voice resonates throughout the room. "

Ally Dawson! " I slowly turn around.

"Yes Jonathan?" I ask meekly.

"What are these personal issues Cordelle tells me about?" He puts air quotes around personal issues.

"I had to talk to Austin about something that happened in the past," I answer his question vaguely. I glance over at Austin across the room. He sits staring straight ahead, listening to my conversation.

"And this was so important you had to disrupt our restaurant?" He asks.

"I'm sorry Jonathan. It won't happen again," weakly I apologize.

"Since this is your first true offense, I'll just leave you with a warning. But if this happens again, you will not have a job," he threatens. He turns around and starts to reprimand Charlie. I take a deep breath. There's no use in crying. Britt and Delle come over to talk to me but I wave them off with a small smile. Everyone disperses to a section of the dining room. Unconsciously, everyone skirts away from Austin, leaving the tables around where he sits left to me to get ready for opening. _Thanks guys._ Determined to get my job done, I walk towards Austin. When he sees me, he stands up.

"Ally I-"

"Austin please, my boss is already mad at me. Don't make it worse." I try to start turning over chairs but he stops me.

"2 minutes at the most," he begs quietly.

"Fine. Just let me do my work," I respond exasperated. He steps aside so I grab the legs of a creme colored, cushioned chair and deftly flip it right side up.

"Ally. I'm sorry for flipping out on you. There's been so much happening. I find you after 14 years and then two days after that, I find out I have a daughter. I want to be part of her life if you'll let me but I need a little bit of time to process all this. Can we meet again Friday? Or Saturday? And regardless, I hope you know that no matter how mad I am at you for lying and keeping this a secret, there will always be a part of me the loves you. And tell Aubryn not to take anything I said too personally. I'm sorry Ally." He turns with that and walks out the double doors silently.

I finish flipping the remaining chairs and grab the cream table cloths to place over all the tables that aren't booths. I'm 30 minutes behind so I can't do anything too fancy. _Unfold, flick, flutter, smooth. Unfold, flick, flutter, smooth._ I chant this over and over in my head. Anslee finishes her work area and walks over to help me, since I still need to set the tables. She puts down plate after plate at each seat. Cordelle comes over with a big tub of silverware wrapped with napkins and starts to follow behind Anslee putting a bundle on each plate. Britt and Charlie each roll a cart of glasses over. Charlie has wine glasses and Britt has water glasses. Two glasses are placed at each setting.

I work at Five. This is a five star restaurant that is a little stereotypical but at the same time it's different. There's one big dining room that has booths along two sides and tables of varying sizes in the middle. On the far wall there's the bathrooms, the staff room and the kitchen. The "theme" is creme colored with varying accents of gold, pink, and green. We are a very close group of coworkers and we'll help whoever needs help. Today that's me. When everyone is done, I smile gratefully at them and Jonathan comes out to open the restaurant. I get lost in the swing of things and before I know it we've closed and I have to start cleaning up. I do everything I did 7 hours previous in reverse and go over to help Britt who is moving at a sluggish pace.

"Britt. What's wrong? You're not as peppy as usual," I ask her worriedly.

"I can't burden you with my problems Ally. You've had so much happen to you recently; I can't add to all the craziness," she replies. I was about to let the matter drop but when I see her start to tear up, I know this is important.

"Nonsense Brittany. Tomorrow, I'll take you out for lunch at around noon and we can talk then. I'll meet you at the little diner a few buildings down from here. Okay?"

"Thank you Ally," she nods.

"Okay, I'll see you then." I give her a hug from the side before I head to the staff room and hang up my pink apron that ties around the waist. Each of the waiters and waitresses here have a green apron and a pink apron that both tie around the waist. We can wear either color but the boys usually stick to green unless it's Valentines Day and even that took a lot of coaxing from Britt and Anslee. I pick up my bag and walk back through the dining room shouting "bye" and getting a chorus of "byes" back.

I forgot all about Austin and Aubryn and that whole mess but it quickly resurfaces in my memory on the way home. I try to push the thoughts away but they're persistent and soon my analyzing brain starts going through this afternoon. Austin and I got along just fine at brunch. It was almost like nothing had ever happened in between us, good or bad. Then I had to ruin it. If I kept Bryn a secret a little longer, I could've apologized and led Austin slowly into my crazy life. That would be incredibly selfish of me. Technically, I've been selfish ever since I made the decision to leave Austin with no explanation. And Bryn. Oh my god Bryn. She has been such a good sport. She deserved to know who her father was the moment she could understand what I was saying. Never would she ask about him; who he was, what he did. Now she knows and she didn't yell at me. No. Instead she comforts me. I've loved Bryn and I've seen her everyday of her life but I never saw how mature she was. How not having a father and a mother only there half the time took a toll on her. As a matters of fact, Liz has been there for her more than I have. I've been too focused on myself; making sure that there would be enough money to live on. I'm at work when she comes home from school and she's in bed when I come home from work. We spend an hour and a half together in the morning and most of the time it's spent getting ready. The only time I spend truly with her is during school breaks but we're both still busy. I feel a tear fall down my cheek. This whole time I thought I was being an amazing mom. I'm single yet I manage to keep a good roof over our heads and good food on our table. Another tear. I've never been there for Aubryn. I've never talked to her about her life and I've never just had fun with her. I'm surprised she still calls me mom, because I'm certainly not one to her. Now I have a torrential downpour of tears falling.

I pull my car into my driveway and park, but I don't get out. I just lean back, pull my hands through my hair and sigh. After a few minutes of sitting in the deathly still night, I gather my stuff and head indoors. I'm greeted by two faces: Liz and Aubryn. I'm not surprised by the fact that Bryn is still up. We all need to talk. I drop my bags and kick off my shoes. Liz sits next to Aubryn on the couch so I take a seat facing them in the arm chair.

"So...," Aubryn starts off. I give her a watery smile.

"So I came to this realization in the car tonight. Aubryn," I look at her, "I haven't really been a mom to you since I started working at the restaurant. Liz has been more of a mom to you than I have."

"That's not true," the two girls cut in.

"But it is," I reply, "I spend about an hour with you every day. Both of us are doing something in that hour also. We haven't talked about your life and how you're doing in about 5 years. I feel horrible. Liz, on the other hand, is there for you when you come home and. And now I've thrown Austin into the picture and expect you to just readjust. I can't keep doing this to you. You've grown up with virtually no parents and a babysitter," I sob. Bryn stands up and walks toward me. Wordlessly, she hugs me.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

"You know that no matter what, you'll always be my mom and I'll always love you right?" She whispers back and I nod.

"Yes sweetie. I love you too." She perched on top of the armrest and I continue. "As far as Austin goes; well it could've gone better but it could've gone a lot worse. I'm sorry I kept it a secret for so long. I was being selfish. Austin said he needed a little time to think all this through. I'll talk to him again Friday or Saturday and I'll tell you guys what we decide to do. Aubryn," I look up from my hands to the girl sitting slightly above me, "Austin asked me to tell you not to take anything he said too personally. He was confused and shocked. Also, I don't think you would, but don't tell anyone about this. I need to know how Austin wants to address this to the media and the rest of the world before you can tell anyone. I'm so sorry I'm making you do something way beyond what an 8th grader should be doing. Now, it's way past your bedtime go on up."

"Goodnight, Mom," she leans down to wrap her arms around me and kiss my cheek.

"Goodnight."

"Night, Aunt Liz," she says while she walks over to give Lizzy a hug.

"Goodnight, Aubryn." Bryn heads toward the stairs and we hear the thumps as she walks upstairs.

Liz starts to talk, "Ally, I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always support you. You've done so much and worked so hard to be where you are today. There's not much to talk about until Saturday. You, however, need to follow in your daughter's footsteps and head to bed. I'm going to go home. See you tomorrow," she gets up to hug me, "Bye".

"Bye." Liz lets herself out and I join Bryn upstairs. She's in her bathroom so I walk into my room and get ready for bed. That night, I drift in and out of sleep.

* * *

** Chapter 7! I'm sorry it was short. Hopefully I'll get into a regular update mode. By the way... are there any Divergent fans? I cannot wait for the movie. Seriously, if you haven't read the series, I would DEFINITELY recommend reading the books, or at least the first one. The feels! I am now going to go watch Critics and Confidence, so if you'll excuse me, I will leave now... **

**~RM**

**** I reuploaded this because it was all a mess (there were NO spaces) so sorry about that... it should be in a better format now!**


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